Maiko 'the icy inferno' A canon beginning
by Bizmarck
Summary: A character analysis based story about how Mai and Zuko could have gotten together between seasons two and three, and why . For lovers of the complex characters of Avatar.
1. Chapter 1

Avatar character analysis, sequential short stories (cannon and beyond)

**'The icy inferno'**

Set just after the final episode of season 2

Part 1

Mai and Ty Lee

_((( - Hello Hello, one of the reasons I like Avatar so much is the complex cast of contrasting characters__. Considering the impact Mai has on the story, I felt her relationship with Zuko, and particularly how it came to be, was just passed over. I thought the whole thing would be worth a considerably deeper analysis, as it had to be an interesting turn of events as far as I was concerned. So here is my first part in a series of small sequential stories focussing on the characters and relationships. It will stay cannon until the end of the series, were it will turn into a continuation, and then, who knows who ends up with who . )))_

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Mai sat by one of the many royal bathing pools. She calmly brushed her long, silky black hair as she watched clouds drift across the sky through their reflection from the perfectly still, dark waters. Looking up, she let her eyes drift across the skyline of the recently conquered city of Ba-Sing-Se; the buildings seemed so far away across the ridiculously large expanse of royal compound. The bathing pools of the central palace were set slightly away from the main buildings. They were roofed and with removable timber walls, so as to still allowed the bather privacy without hindering the magnificent view of the city in summer. Like everything else in the royal palace, the pools themselves were large and isolated; Mai wondered how anyone got anything done in the Earth Kingdom, when it took almost and hour to walk from the main gate to the first of the palace buildings.

'_No wonder the earth king had no idea what was happening in his own kingdom, the fool'_ Mai thought to herself.

Still though, she couldn't help but appreciate the architecture and style of the bathing house.

Having come from a rich family, Mai was not often impressed by royal opulence, one of the reasons she always claimed to be so bored of such superficial things. But even she had to admit that the setting she currently found herself was stunning.

'_If only they had some __proper fire nation soaps and oils' _she thought to herself, frowning. Her long delicate fingers quickly worked her thick hair into a simple bun. Fixing it with a long hair-pin, she stood up. She let her bathing robe fall from her tall athletic body, before slowly walking into the water. Her cat like motions barely made a ripple in the water's surface as she submerged up to her neck.

Swimming across the pool with a technique so perfect, it made any manual on the mater seem amateurish, she lazily swam her way to the other pools edge; leaning on it, she rested her head against her arms, staring out at the city.

A rare smile appeared across Mai's lips, melting her usual cold façade as she let herself relax. It was strange, she normally didn't enjoy bathing. Well, it wasn't that she hated it, a simple bath was actually quite soothing, but that was the problem, it never was just a simple bath, there was always a process. Skin treatments, hair treatments, or a whole assortment of massages against different things, or for different things… Mai had been told often enough that she should be grateful, most girls would kill for the chance to be treated like that for a day, let alone every day… but that was the problem, it had been like this… every day… since she was a little girl. There was no way to avoid it, if she wanted to or not, it was simply what was expected of her, and like the rest of her life, she had little choice but to go along with it. It took so much time, always the same routine… any enjoyment she ever had with the pampering had long been buried under a deep seeded resentment of 'having' to be pampered… no wonder she was often bored, it took a lot of time to be flawless, every day of every second. It was… draining.

'Well look at little Miss smiley' said a voice from above.

Mai's smile evaporated in a second, looking up with an annoyed glare she stared at the beaming face of Ty Lee.

'Oh don't be like that' said Ty Lee, pouting, 'it's not everyday I see you smiling. Not even when you're bathing.'

'This is different' replied Mai, her smile not returning.

Kicking off, Mai swam backwards a bit.

'How so?' asked Ty Lee, placing down the few bathing soaps she had brought along.

'I'm not here because I have to be' replied Mai, watching the pretty ripples of sunlight as the filtered through the water, 'it's because I want to be.'

'Really? Well do you want me to be here?' asked Ty Lee.

Mai turned in the water to arch an eyebrow at her friend's strange question?

'Because if you want me here, there is no reason for you to lose your smile' stated Ty Lee.

Mai smirked, and then let the half smile sit as she moved backwards to the side of the pool, leaning against it.

'That's better' said Ty Lee happily. Taking off her own bathing robe she scrunched it together before throwing it to one side roughly. Standing on her tippy toes, Ty Lee stretched her arms above her heads before rolling her head from side to side and shacking her shoulders loose.

Ty Lee smiled dangerously; Mai's half smile disappeared immediately.

'Geronimo!' screamed Ty Lee happily as she launched herself high above the pool, before coming down in a tight ball and causing a massive explosion of water. Ty Lee erupted from the water a second later, diving in again and splashing around. After a while she looked back towards Mai, who, despite her best efforts, had not been able to keep her hair from getting wet.

'Perhaps I was too hasty with my smile' said Mai dryly.

'Come on Mai' challenged Ty Lee, 'you're always complaining about having to be prim and proper, but when you finally get the chance to let your hair down, you don't use it?'

Mai gave her a warning glare. Ty Lee simply smiled and dived under water again, swimming the length of the pool underwater.

Sighing to herself, Mai removed her hair-pin, allowing her hair to fall into the water unceremoniously, with a flick of her wrist the iron pin sailed across the room, spinning, before imbedding itself in a wooden pillar next to Mai's discarded robe. Diving underwater, Mai followed Ty Lee to the other side of the pool before resurfacing more roughly.

'That's more like it!' said Ty Lee happily.

'You could ask next time' said Mai dangerously, running her hands through her thick hair to squeeze away some of the water.

'I'm just helping you to loosen up' replied Ty Lee.

'Maybe I don't want to loosen up that much, maybe I like the quiet' retorted Mai, and then stopped as she considered her own words briefly before Ty Lee continued.

'I can't believe that! Not with how much you always say you hate having to be stiff and elegant.'

Mai thought about this for a second before replying.

'I don't hate all of it,' Mai replied, 'I just hate having to do it, 'so much', all of the time… it's complicated.'

'So it's like you with your knives then' suggested Ty Lee absentmindedly, while she ran her fingers across the surface of the water.

Mai looked over questioningly.

'Well, your knives need hours of practice, precision and lots of preparation time to put on all those little gadgets and hiding places each day. And you do that willingly, despite how much you complain about tedious routines and such.'

Mai took in Ty Lee's bit of physiological analysis.

'You've always enjoyed your knives, or at least you always seemed to.'

Mai turned to lean back against the side of the pool, looking out at the city.

'It was just something I was good at I suppose…'

Ty Lee stopped trailing her hands through the water to look at her friend.

'Ha!' Mai suddenly half-laughed to herself ironically, 'At least all that drilled posture and gymnastic training turned out to be good for something…'

Ty lee turned to float on her back, making small splashes with her feet as she looked worryingly at her friend.

'I always had to be flawless in everything I did, and throwing knives was perfect for the accurate, emotionless, precision existence I was in…'

Mai wasn't really talking to her friend anymore; she was just voicing her thoughts out aloud, the approaching sunset putting her mind in a less guarded mode.

'I suppose knives are ok, at least they're something just for me, it's nothing my parents would ever have thought I would need.'

Mai's expression hardened, her eyebrows creasing to make her naturally dangerous looking features look even more deadly.

'And at least they have given me a way to get out of that place, a way to experience something different from the routine, something exciting.'

'Azula sure has done that' interjected Ty Lee as she came to a stop. She was looking out towards the city, and for once, there had been little to no joy in her voice.

Mai looked over at her normally over-chirpy friend, brought out of her own thoughts be Ty Lee's uncharacteristic neutral tone.

'I heard what happened at the circus' said Mai sympathetically.

'Azula has a very unique way of being persuasive' voiced Ty Lee, still neutral.

'At least I'm using this to escape something worse…' stated Mai, 'How do you remain so upbeat all the time when you're here against your will?' Mai asked, honestly interested.

'Well, it's not all that bad, now is it' replied Ty Lee, the spring in her voice returning.

'There's always something exciting going on, it's definitely something not everyone does' she continued. 'What about you? You're not much better then when we were at the academy? Surely this is much more exciting then being at home. Shouldn't you be even happier then I am?'

Mai gave her friend an ironic smile.

'I don't think I'll ever be 'that' happy.'

Ty Lee repaid the ironic smile with her own.

'Sure, it's better then being with my parents' replied Mai, 'but I didn't say that it was a great improvement over my life before.

'hu?'

'It's not like I have much more freedom here, now is there?' continued Mai, 'Azula makes every decision, dictates every action. She's even more demanding then my own mother for god's sake…'

Ty Lee giggled.

Mai smiled.

'Well that's why you should enjoy these moments all the more…'

'I am' said Mai with a smile, slipping further into the water and placing her hands behind her head.

Ty Lee watched her friend half float away. She moved forward to swim around a bit, this time with far less splashing. The two swam around in silence for a moment, Ty lee waited for Mai to bring her ears back out of the water.

'And if you get bored again, there's always Zuko' said Ty Lee cheekily.

Mai's lazy smile disappeared for a second, then returned even larger then before.

'There is always that nice distraction' admitted Mai, though her smile faltered a bit.

Ty Lee noticed the sudden lack of confidence in her friend's voice.

'Have you seen him yet?' she asked, her voice still suggestive.

'No' replied Mai, her normal dead pan expression returning. 'He eats in his room and just trains all day.'

'So will you go and see him?' asked Ty Lee, a hint of impatience, it had already been two days.

Mai frowned; she didn't appreciate the extra pressure. Particularly about something she was uncharacteristically unsure about. Zuko had always been the one thing in her life that had not been a routine, around him she simply could not be elegant, cold and flawless, it was infuriating as well as excruciatingly exciting… Mai's cheeks coloured as a mixture of feelings began to well up inside of her. Grimacing for a second, she quickly locked the feelings away, she didn't want to have to face them now.

'Zuko can wait' Mai said darkly.

Ty Lee raised a surprised eyebrow in the direction of her friend.

'After all' said Mai, the smile returning to her face, and her expression softening, 'I'm not bored yet.'

Ty Lee gave Mai a dangerous smile before shrugging her shoulders and floating backwards into a backstroke.

--

_((( Just a little something, I hope you like __End part one, next off, Zuko and Mai meet again. )))_


	2. Chapter 2

Avatar character analysis, sequential short stories (cannon and beyond)

'The icy inferno'

Part 2

Mai and Zuko

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_Here is one of the few plausible scenarios I see for the two 'breaking the ice' while still remaining in character, I'm surprised with how good it seems to work, I hope you agree _

_--_

Zuko's robes fluttered occasionally in the light breeze, bringing some much needed life into his otherwise stiff, still figure. He stood motionless upon one of the higher rooftops of the Earth Kingdom's formal royal palace, his scornful expression staring out towards the city. Had anyone been close enough to see, they would have found his tormented, raging expression even more terrifying than any gargoyle that might have been in his place.

Two piercing yellow eyes almost glowed in defiance, his teeth gnashed as poisoned thoughts briefly flooded his mind.

As quickly as the intensity had built up, it disappeared again, burned out and flooded by a torrent of guilt and doubt. Zuko's expression saddened and he collapsed down into a slumping seating position. His hands came up to forcefully run through his untamed hair, one hand returning to pinch the skin between his tightly shut eyes.

'Why do I just keep going around in circles?!' Zuko growled. If he hadn't known any better, he would have said that he had a head-ache, the sad truth was that he felt fine. It was as if he wanted to feel pain…at least that would be, a sort of… relief? The same thoughts that had been chasing themselves around his head for the last few days returned again; bringing with them the conflicting emotions; anger, disappointment, resentment, uncertainty… and more. The cycle would just start again… breathing out slowly… he gazed up again.

'Uncle…' Zuko whispered, seemingly involuntarily. He really wanted to see him… but couldn't, he just couldn't.

'Yaaarrgh!' he half shouted, half growled; swinging his arm violently as if swatting away the unwanted thoughts. Small trails of fire followed the path of his arm; it was as if his fire bending was bleeding out his extra emotions.

_'Training'_ thought Zuko, that had been his only release the last few days, he had trained almost non-stop for four days now, trying to fill every second of his day with some physical exertion, something that would block his thoughts… he hadn't really slept, he was eating erratically… to be honest, he looked like crap.

He saw no one, talked to no one; Azula had tried to talk to him on the first day, but wisely decided to leave her brother alone when the stone statue next to her had begun to melt into the floor.

The apartment he had taken residence in looked like a war zone… it resembled his mind to a great degree… which was probably the reason he just had to get out of there…

He had tried to meditate, tried to reason, but his daemons would just not leave him alone… it was tearing him apart; he just wanted it to stop now, just go away… not care.

Zuko had decided he needed to get out, which was the reason he now found himself perched at one of the highest points that he could reach. The fresh air had been good… for a while, but the thoughts had started to creep in again… he had to keep moving, find some new distraction. Zuko's thoughts drifted to the avatar… he wandered if the small air-bender had really survived Azula's attack? He knew that the healing water-bender had that special spirit water. Unconsciously, Zuko's hand moved to his scar, suddenly wandering if that little water-bending spitfire could really have healed it. For some reason he was suddenly glad she hadn't, this emotion sprung up so quickly Zuko was slightly shocked, why would he want to keep the scar? Did he think he deserved it? Deciding that analyzing his thoughts was just a waste of time, he tried to forget the whole thing. For some reason the whole idea of chasing the Avatar, or finding out if he was really dead or not, just had no appeal. Zuko suddenly found himself hoping that the avatar had survived… but this brought a whole host of emotions that where confusing, he pushed the whole thing roughly out of his mind… there had to be something to do around here to pass the time.

Looking around the almost deserted palace, Zuko scanned for any signs of life… The idea of talking to his sister just caused him more negative emotions and confusion, he didn't need that right now… Luckily she was busy with her new pets the Dai-Li, or otherwise she may have found tormenting her brother an amusing distraction…

Uncharacteristically for Zuko, he spat, seemingly in defiance of the universe…

'Just have a look around' Zuko said to himself bitterly, and with a new sense of determination, he took off across the rooftops.

Leaping and swinging across the high rooftops with reckless abandon, Zuko executed gymnastic feats even Ty Lee would have been proud of. With no regard to personal safety he pushed himself to the limit, it was as if he was just waiting for the opportunity to miss a grip, to slip on a narrow beam…

Zuko panted as he approached another rooftop to the side of the palace… looking down into one of the gardens he was almost surprised to see a sign of life in the palace grounds, a figure was in the gardens. Stopping to catch his breath, Zuko looked closer, it was definitely a she, he could tell from the fact that she wasn't wearing a lot, and she was obviously training. Suddenly interested by the new appearance, Zuko decided to take a closer look.

Mai was really enjoying herself, she just had to admit it. Panting heavily with exertions she cart-wheeled to one side, twisting her ankle slightly to release a volley of arrows. Jumping clearly over a hedge she rolled on the ground before coming up and throwing a dagger behind her without looking, a resounding thud telling her that she had hit home once more. Turning slowly, Mai smiled in satisfaction as she saw her weapons sticking out of the offending tree; the painting of the Earth King which was pined to it was already torn to shreds, evidence of another successful training session. Mai stretched happily, taking off her wrist straps and tossing them towards her pile of belongings. Walking confidently over to a small fountain, she raised her bare leg, removing her one ankle strap before similarly discarding it. Mai was actually not wearing much else, only her chest straps and some basic short cloth. Grabbing a nearby jug of water, which she had told a servant to bring along, she took a long drink of water directly from the jug, splashing some of its contents. Lowering the jug slightly, she smiled before releasing some of the clear crisp water onto her face.

She felt great! Mai was suddenly very glad she had taken Ty Lee's words to heart. Thanks to Azula being busy with the Dai Li, Mai had finally had a taste of real freedom. No orders, no one to telling her to do this or that. She was left to do what she wanted, and after a small false start of being unsure of what to do with her time, Mai had found it didn't matter what she did, as long as she did it her way, it was the most enjoyable thing she could ever remember doing. So it had turned out that she had simply explored the large palace on her own, taken a nap in the garden, talked to a rather intimidated gardener about some interesting flowers, slept in late, or just had a ridiculously long lunch with Ty Lee, it was all actually enjoyable, because she had control!

Even training was enjoyable; without the need to wear her normal formal clothes, on a course she had just thrown together, in a garden just for her own… not bad at all. Mai sat on the edge of the fountain, dangling her one foot in the cool water as she roughly tied some loose strands of hair back into her for-once inelegant, bundle of hair.

Zuko was a lot closer now, but only more confused. Who was this girl? He kept thinking it was Mai, he knew she was a knives specialist now, and it sort of looked like her. Admittedly he had not seen her in years, but he recognised her precise elegant motions, it was just that… she was never like this… half naked, her hair… well, not in a mess, but definitely not its normal pristine self. It had to be her…?

Curious now, Zuko decided to sneak closer.

Mai sat calmly near the shimmering body of water, carefully using a cloth to wipe herself down. Rinsing the fabric out carefully, she returned dutifully to her cleansing process, actually enjoying it for once. She stopped briefly as she sensed some approaching motion nearby. It wasn't really noise, but her years of training and living in a 'tombstone of a house' made her uncannily able to pick up the smallest movement.

Mai wondered who it was, she new Ty Lee was off training in one of the halls, there were not a lot of staff left, perhaps Azula had sent one of her Dai-Li agents to spy on her. Mai frowned, she wouldn't put it past Azula to do something like that. Seemingly continuing her cleaning process, Mai inched her foot closer to a dagger that was lying on the fountain ledge nearby.

Whoever it was, Mai was sure they shouldn't by preparing to spy on a half naked noble woman in the garden, she was going to have to teach them a lesson. Slowly moving her hands down the full length of her leg she suddenly snatched the dagger and sent it flying towards the intruder in one crisp backhand flick, aiming for where she thought their feet were.

'Waaa!' came a shout.

Zuko could thank his recent intensive training for being able to dive to the side just in time. Erupting from some ornamental bushes, Zuko rolled on the path before coming up in an automatic fighting stance.

Mai was already poised with a handful of blades as she suddenly recognised her opponent.

'Zuko!?' Mai said suddenly.

'Mai' said Zuko, equally surprised, 'it is you.'

Mai lowered her weapons, her expression suddenly cross.

'Of course it's me' she replied impatiently, 'who else would it be?'

Zuko stood back up strait, but didn't answer; simply studying Mai with his normal stern face, his previous shock almost gone… she had changed a lot in the last few years.

Mai suddenly became very self-aware, she wasn't used to being this undressed in front of people, particularly Zuko. Her arms came up automatically to cover her chest, her clenched fists showing her natural defiance, even in a position of seeming vulnerability.

'Turn around' she commanded flatly.

Zuko blinked, then spun around automatically, suddenly aware that he might be making Mai uncomfortable.

Mai was momentarily in shock, she had definitely not expected her first meeting with Zuko after all this time to begin like this! To be honest she wasn't exactly sure how she had imagined it… but still.

Mai grabbed some nearby light lengths of fabric and quickly wrapt herself elegantly. One of the reasons Mai had been holding off meeting Zuko was due to her uncertainty in her own reactions, she was slightly proud of herself that she had remained so in control, she had come a long way from that girl who was painfully shy around her crush.

Zuko in the meantime was becoming impatient, his current level of agitation not really tolerating this sudden indignity. Without a second thought he started to walk away.

'Wait' Said Mai suddenly, despite her confident moments before, she couldn't help but show a small sense of desperation in her simple word.

Zuko must have sensed it to, because he stopped, despite his instincts.

'Why?' he asked, not turning around.

'Why not?' countered Mai quickly, her control returning. She tied a knot in her last piece of cloth, completing a rough two-piece outfit, still revealing, but considerably more elegant.

'Why where you spying on me?' asked Mai suddenly when Zuko didn't reply to her first question

'I wasn't spying' replied Zuko, only half turning around, 'I just wanted to get a closer look to find out who you were.'

'You can turn around' instructed Mai, taking a seat by the fountain again.

Zuko turned impatiently.

Mai calmly looked at Zuko, using the opportunity to study him a little more closely.

'Are there a lot of knife experts in the Earth Kingdom?' Mai challenged dryly.

Zuko had to analyse her weighted question, allowing his impatience to seep away again.

'I thought it was you…' he said honestly… 'But then again maybe not… you've changed a lot since I saw you last.'

Mai wasn't really sure how to answer this; almost to her own surprise she took the offensive.

'Will I hope the changes have been for the better' she said smoothly, a half smile appearing on her face. Her dark voice was perfectly suited for subtle seduction without being overt.

It had the desired effect, Zuko suddenly displayed the smallest hint of uncertainty, but in a good way.

'Uh…' he hesitated.

Seemingly triggered from the subconscious, Zuko's perception suddenly switched ever so slightly, Mai had indeed changed a lot, it many different ways.

Mai picked up on this immediately, subconsciously reinforcing her own behaviour towards Zuko, a behaviour which had seemingly developed out of thin air. It was not like Mai ever had a plan of how to act around Zuko, all she had know is that she wanted to get closer to him.

Her years of training and upbringings had made her view the world like an observant assassin, a series of targets and narrow goals, each achievable, with the right approach. It was cold and calculating, but it worked…

Despite her initial uncertainty, her mind had automatically framed Zuko into this format when she had been put on the spot, her desires on this one 'subject' bringing an exciting new mix of flirtation. It was new and scary, but it was framed in her mind in a way that she could control, and better yet, she could lead to a successful outcome.

_'You know how to get what you want'_ a little voice said in the back of Mai's mind, dispelling the last of her doubts, her smile increased slightly.

Zuko half sidestep the insinuation, not sure if he had understood Mai correctly.

'I wasn't expecting to see you training in your underwear… I mean with so little clothes…' he said, his edge in his voice leaving for the first time in days.

'I don't often get the chance' replied Mai, ignoring the comment about her underwear, 'I saw the opportunity… and I took it.'

Zuko absorbed her answer, the words appealing to him directly at some level.

Mai wasn't exactly what you would call a talker, she rarely ever took the initiative in a conversation, however, something told her she would have to take the lead this time, if she wanted Zuko to stick around.

'Do you want some water?' Mai asked, indicating the one glass she had yet to use herself 'You look like you have been working out yourself.'

Zuko looked down at his attire, under his ruffled light robe he was only wearing a pare of loose pants, he had forgotten that he was not wearing a shirt, and that half of his chest and stomach had been exposed the whole time he had been talking to Mai.

Tucking himself in, he never the less moved towards Mai.

'Sure, why not' he said simply, his mind not coming up with any convincing argument against the suggestion, and his subconscious actually grateful for the distraction. Mai didn't register as a threat in Zuko's mind, in fact she didn't really register as anything, he had never had time to think about the quiet, withdrawn friend of his sister, and at the moment this neutrality was something, very appealing…

Mai noticed that he had suddenly put some effort into his appearance.

Zuko sat beside Mai, accepting the cup she had filled for him. Mai casually rested one arm on her raised knee, watching Zuko drink, from this angle she got a very good view of his scar, even behind is long tangled hair. It was actually the first time she had seen it in person, having not seen Zuko again after the Agni-kai against his father.

'It's not as bad as I thought' said Mai, not unkindly.

Zuko turned from looking at the horizon to glance at Mai.

'Your scar' Mai continued undaunted, 'it was always made out to be worse then it is, from the descriptions and wanted posters…'

Zuko studied Mai's face for a second, it was difficult to read, but appeared sympathetic overall.

'Well that's good; I guess' he said simply.

'I thought you would be with my sister at the moment' Zuko said suddenly, his gaze returning to the horizon.

'Luckily she's too busy with her new toy's to bother herself too much with me.' Mai said, referring to the Dai-Li, her disinterest in the matter evident.

'I thought you would want to be by her side, part of the action' replied Zuko, his lingering frustration seeping a hint of accusation into his tone.

'You have got to be kidding me,' replied Mai sharply, 'you know what your sister is like.'

The distain in Mai's voice was considerably more apparent then she had intended, seeing as she was unsure of how Zuko would react.

His reaction was better then she could have hoped for, an eyebrow arched in surprise as he stole a fleeting side-glance, followed by a small smile appearing for a few seconds. Mai had gone from neutral to positive in Zuko's mind in a surprisingly short amount of time.

Mai became ever more confident, Zuko was obviously not going to suggest a further course of action, and she got the impression he was enjoying the distraction. Now that she had been physically closer to him for a while she had started to notice the negative side of his unkempt, ruffled good looks, he had obviously not bathed in days, despite all the training.

Mai suddenly got up. Standing next to Zuko, she waited until he turned to make eye contact with her.

'Come on, let's go take a bath.'

Zuko recoiled ever so slightly in surprise at the strange statement.

'You stink Zuko' Mai said bluntly, 'and I found a great bath over in the east wing.'

Zuko subconsciously took a sniff of his robe, mildly offended at the forward statement. But even he had to admit that he had become quite… funcky.

'We can't take a bath together' he said dismissively, as if trying to draw the focus away from his current unwashed state.

'You wish' said Mai slyly, once again getting a mild rush at the uncharacteristic flirtation, 'the bath is separated into two halves. You enter the water separately out of view, but at one end you can make eye contact over a small garden, so we can talk.'

Zuko sat in silence for a second, his next question seemingly formulating in his throat.

'You want to talk?' he asked suddenly.

'Sure, why not' Mai said, a warm smile appearing on her face, 'there is nothing else to do around here' she finished in good humour, revealing a whole other side to herself in one foul swoop.

Zuko's impression of Mai had been completely knocked on its head, the whole affect being extra potent due to the disastrous mentality she had been able to bring him out of, seemingly in an instant. He was happy to go along, in many more ways then even Mai could have hoped for, particularly considering the short period of time that had past in their initial meeting.

'Ok' Zuko finally answered, getting up. For the first time in a long time his negative thoughts were mostly contained, seemingly cadged in by the thinnest hope of something, even mildly positive, in his immanent future.

--

_Not another bath scene, yes I know, sorry, it just developed that way, it should be the last. Anyway, bathing has been a very important pastime in most advance cultures… in any case, I hope this was enjoyable; ice breaker is over, now to build up a basis for a relationship from effectively nothing… mission impossible for these two kids? We'll find out soon enough! :-)_


	3. Chapter 3

'The icy inferno'

Part 3

Mai and Zuko…

--

_Hello Hello.__ I am going to have to assume that most Fire Nation citizens are not fully aware of the true horrors of their nation's foreign occupation, including the full extent of the Air-bender extermination. This chapter was a real pain, I spent ages coming up with a dialogue context that would actually work between these two… and was still entertaining and relatively quick, hope it came out ok._

_Let me know__ what you think! Thanks for the reviews so far! It keeps me going, this thing is a lot more work then I expected! _

_--_

Zuko's toes flexed, he rocked back and forth slightly, subconsciously enjoying the texture of the rough, warm sandstone tiles under his bare feet. The fire prince was standing in front of a glistening pool, the light tan motif contrasting superbly against the lush green plants which provided privacy to one side. Throwing his towel onto the ground, Zuko took a short run-up before diving headlong into the pool. Underwater, he required only a few powerful strokes to bring him to the other side, breaking the surface he gulped in some air.

Despite the idyllic surroundings, the stubborn scornful expression which had occupied his face for the last few days was still as present as ever. It was as if the wrinkles on his brow were a barometer for the overall emotional tension which was manifesting itself physical in his body. He was tens, and it would take a lot more then un-expectantly good company to dissolve this build up.

One major positive development was that the sudden distraction had seemingly temporarily broken the vicious cycle of his thoughts. Though his mind was still too poisoned to appreciate the beauty of his surroundings, he was at least observing them now in a clinical way. He was focussed, he had something to do, and despite his every action being laced with underlying aggression, it was at least a minor release. Diving underwater, Zuko started to do laps of the pool.

Mai could hear Zuko splashing from the female changing room on her side of the pool. She frowned slightly at his over zealous exertions. She took her time disrobing, for some reason she had no immediate desire to speak to the prince again. The last few minutes had been some of the most difficult and frustrating of her life. Mai knew that Zuko's travels had changed him, but in the back of her mind she had seemingly told herself that what she liked about him where the elements that could never change, his pride, his strength, his direction and many others… But what she had suddenly found next to her was a Zuko that was anything other then that which she could remembered. Once again she had to remind herself that she actually never knew the real Zuko, but Mai had known him well enough to recognise that what she now had in front of her… was not him.

Mai had done her best to build up an interesting conversation, no mean feat for a girl that was anything but practiced in the conversational arts. She had started by effectively giving a short tour-guide of the Earth Kingdom palace as they made their way across to the baths; assuming correctly that Zuko had yet to acquaint himself with such things. This had seemingly been well received, particularly with the dry/sarcastic humour that Mai injected into her descriptions, seemingly on instinct. Zuko's reactions had been almost impossible to read, rarely replying or even commenting.

One thing that Mai was sure of, however, was that he didn't want to talk about any time after his banishment… His presence had grown ever darker, if that was at all possible, when she had halfway asked about his experiences in the Earth Kingdom. Mai had wisely decided to bring the conversation back to more mundane matters, talking about the general goings-on.

It was obvious to Mai that Zuko was deeply troubled… but at the end of the day she was not equipped for this sort of thing… the thought of a heart to heart made Mai cringe, it was not her style, the whole thought of such a confrontation made her… uncomfortable. To say that she was becoming frustrated with the entire situation was an understatement; this was not how this was meant to be, this was not even close to the Zuko that she remembered, and at the moment she was at a bit of a loss of how to get him back.

Mai moved out towards the female half of the pool. Walking to the pools edge, she but down some soaps and cleansing creams before noticed a shadow on the dividing wall next to her. Stopping, she observed the shadow, her shadow? Turning, she could see the sun reflecting off a nearby polished rooftop through the large open windows, the round tiles obviously caught enough light to ensure that a good 'female' shadow was visible against the thin, semi-transparent dividing wall at most times of day.

Mai rolled her eyes.

_'Perverts'_ she thought to herself, men were all the same, no matter which nation they came from.

A sudden decrease in noise from the men's side of the pool told Mai that Zuko had noticed.

Suddenly smirking, Mai struck a pose momentarily, one hand on hip; she flicked her long hair back then took the few steps to the side of the pool, diving in elegantly with minimum splashing.

Zuko was momentarily stunned, his mind instantly devoid of any thought… what was that? Shaking his head clear he started to swim again, a little more uncertainly. It wasn't long until Mai's voice came across the small divide.

'Zuko' came Mai's voice, not quite as softly as it had been during their walk.

'Ya' replied Zuko, being about his longest reply since their walk had started towards the bath.

'Did you bring any soap?'

Zuko looked around, of coerce he had forgotten to bring anything from the changing room.

'No' he said, slightly annoyed.

'I thought so' sighed Mai, 'Come over here, I brought extra.'

Zuko made his way over to the far edge of the pool where the tall divide abruptly ended; from here you could see only the heads of those in the next pool, assuming you were polite about the matter.

'Here,' said Mai, seemingly uncaring about the whole thing, her previous annoyance not fully abated, 'catch.'

Zuko almost fumbled the catch, still himself perturbed about the whole situation.

'And this.'

Zuko looked back up just in time to barely catch a small bottle that was suddenly launched towards him. Grimacing, Zuko popped the cork, taking a sniff of the contents.

'What's this?' he asked.

'It's for your hair' replied Mai, having lowered herself slightly again to slowly wash herself undisturbed. 'If you're going to have hair as long as yours, you're going to have to look after it' she said flatly.

Zuko was somewhat unsure, his hesitation indicating this easily enough to Mai. Mai sighed again, why was he being so… useless, to be honest she had had enough. If he was going to be so damn unsure of how to behave then she was just going to have to tell him.

'Look Zuko' said Mai suddenly, her flat voice carrying a hint of annoyance, 'you're now a Fire Prince again, that's what you wanted, right?'

Zuko didn't react, unused to being talked to like this, particularly if the person knew that he was Prince Zuko.

'You're going to have to start looking like prince again… and acting like one.'

Mai was slightly surprised that she was talking so aggressively, but she wasn't about to baby Zuko, and she wasn't scared of his title either, she had grown up in the upper circles of power, and had learnt to handle Azula to a certain degree.

Zuko for his part was still trying to take it all in, Mai simply continued to surprise him, she had triggered his pride to a small degree and invoked an image he had momentarily forgotten in all his self analysis, he was a Fire Prince again…

Though still muddled, Zuko had enough pride left to know a comeback of some kind was required, the problem was, he had no idea what.

'I don't need to act like a prince here. Anyway, Azula has everything under control' Zuko stated in a half hearted defence, 'and you're one to talk, the state I found you in...'

Mai stopped what she was doing, was that a retort?

'That was then, and this is now. I take my opportunities when I get them, but I still remember my duties.'

'What duties do you have? Following my sister's orders?' Zuko replied aggressively, his old hostility returning.

'My duty is to the Fire Nation, and to its leaders, if my part is to help your sister, well then that is what I'll do.'

'You don't strike me as the patriotic type somehow' said Zuko, unbelieving.

Mai laughed, it was surprisingly hearty, but unsurprisingly full of irony. Zuko found himself shocked once more.

For some reason the statement had struck a cord in Mai, the situation forcing her to reflect on this strange aspect of herself from a new angle, and the current aggressive communication with Zuko put her in an odd, light-headed, frame of mind.

'No…' admitted Mai, 'not in a typical way at least.'

Zuko absentmindedly put some bathing cream into his hair, this girl had turned out to be considerably more intriguing then Zuko would have guessed.

'In what way then?' asked Zuko, actually interested.

Mai thought about this for a few seconds, not really knowing her own view on the matter.

'We all have our part to play in the Fire Nation,' she said.

Mai reflected back onto her childhood, she had grown up with a classic Fire Nation Academy education, one for nobles and the elite, filled with patriotic rhetoric and notions of rule and order. Mai had actually been glad of her cynical nature; her dark view of her own upbringing had allowed her to see past the pomp and glamour of her position. Though she despised elements of the system she was detached enough to see its gains, the Fire Nation was prosperous, there was no denying it… and it was seemingly because everyone knew their place. Mai had concluded this once her own limitations in freedom became more and more apparent to her; it was almost like a justification of sorts. She had told herself that she was stuck in her role, just like the pig farmer or the Iron merchant or the carpet weaver, she could only move in limited circles, but she would make the best of this. Though she detested her predetermined role in life, it seemingly performed a purpose in the greater scheme of prosperity, and this, her pride would not allow her to ignore.

'I'm not really in a position to do anything for anyone,' Mai said coolly.

'My duties would normally consist of me marrying someone and helping to run an estate or lands… and if that is my role…' Mai said, drifting off, 'but while I have the chance I want something more, something exciting, and if that means helping your sister, so be it, I would hope she is working in the interest of the Fire Nation after all.'

'You're helping her to conquer other nations' said Zuko cynically.

'So?' retorted Mai, becoming mildly defensive.

'They're better off this way anyway; the earth king was an idiot. The Dai Li were in control here, or going to overthrow him soon in any case.'

'That's no reason to come in and take over.'

Mai had moved from her seating position to look Zuko in the eye over the numerous plants. Zuko had already worked up a considerable lather in his hair and actually looked rather comical.

'Most kings and nobles are self serving jerks, kingdoms fight and conquer each other all the time, at least ours are better then the rest, I'll lose no sleep over what we've done here, it was better then a full war.'

'The other nations are not as bad as they're made out to be' said Zuko, lowering his hands, his half washed hair forgotten.

'Maybe so, but they're defiantly not better then us, they may even be better off with us here.'

'Really' said Zuko, raising an eyebrow, he doubted his sister was what history would refer to as a compassionate conqueror.

'Well that's not really something I can influence now is it' said Mai defiantly. Zuko was about to say something when Mai interrupted.

'That's your role. You're the Fire Prince.'

Zuko filtered, there simply being no affective retort, somehow he had forgotten what his role really was, or indeed could be, he had been chasing the avatar for so long…

Mai noticed Zuko's sudden silent contemplation, it was different from his normal hostility, maybe she had taken the thing too far in her frustration.

A chunk of lather detached itself from Zuko's hair and fell into the water.

'Look Zuko' said Mai, her voice suddenly more consolatory, 'we are who we are, we all have our role to play, the question is, are you going to make the most out of it?'

Some of the lather was creeping towards Zuko's eyes, automatically he dunked underwater quickly. Resurfacing, he threw his hair back. Momentarily, Zuko locked eyes with Mai again, his face unreadable.

'The Fire Nation needs its prince' said Mai softly, the sudden comment born from a subconscious though that she needed him to. 'You have the power to change things, and I am sure that you would do a great job.'

Mai finished up with a compassionate half smile, the previous few statements bringing an unwanted blush to her normally pale face; she was not used to giving complements.

Again her unwanted physical reaction served only to aid her, as Zuko's lingering hostility found no avenue to escape her poignant but ultimately kind words.

Zuko's face had changed, it was still concentrated, but now there was an element of determination in his eyes instead of hostility and tension. His mind had found a new focus, one that he had forgotten recently in his uncertainty. He was the Fire Prince, his self identity as such was powerful, it being one of the reasons for his recent actions against the Avatar.

Well, he now had what he wanted, and though he had failed to come to terms with his actions on a personal level, when he placed himself in the bigger picture, a sense of identity began to form, a purpose, he wasn't just Zuko, he was Prince Zuko…

Mai waited patiently for a reaction from the young man, unsure of what he was thinking. Somehow, however, she could tell that he was back, it was something in his eyes.

'We had better finish washing' said Zuko finally, his strong, calm voice communicating that they had finished talking for now, but that he was in no way displeased with Mai.

Mai nodded with a smile, sensing that some critical decision had been made, and it was the one she had been hoping for. She moved away from the small divide to continue her washing in private, a permanent smile on her face, she would never have dared to dream of such a sudden change.

Mai had tried to get ready quickly once she had left the pool, but her hair always took a bit of time, and even when not forced to, she maintained the part of her cleansing routine she saw value in. Slipping into some clean robes which were provided as part of the baths, she couldn't hear Zuko anymore, she frowned at the thought that he may just have left quickly after getting out of the bath.

Mai emerged from the female changing room into the hall, stopping suddenly as she saw Zuko nearby leaning against a large windowsill, arms crossed, looking out onto the palace compound. Zuko looked totally different. In addition to his tidy new robes, which he had similarly taken from the bathhouse stockpile, his hair was now mostly pulled back into a small ponytail, only a few loose strands falling forward. He was cleaned, shaven and crisp.

Mai's surprised expression turned into a soft smile, he had been waiting for her.

'Welcome back Prince Zuko' said Mai approvingly, referring to his considerably improved appearance.

Zuko turned to look at Mai, now in more familiar attire, she was back to her elegant self, playing her role perfectly, and very attractively at that.

'I thought I would walk you back to your quarters' said Zuko with a half smile, his confidence back in force.

Mai smiled, a level of playful aggression showing through. In her mind the playing field had just become a lot more interesting, and more importantly, it looked like her game style was not only effective, but appreciated.

With an approving nod, Mai waited until Zuko was by her side before turning and walking down the long hall.

The two young adults were approaching Mai's quarters.

Mai felt as if she was walking with a different person to that of a few hours ago. Only a few seconds into their walk, Zuko had started asking Mai all kinds of questions regarding the current state of the Fire Nation; the current political situation, reports, the state of the army, loyalties, last years harvest, everything and anything. Mai had suddenly found herself very glad of her trained observant nature, despite having little interest herself in many of the areas Zuko wanted to know about, she knew enough to answer most questions. Mai provided as much detail and information as possible, knowing that the matter was of great importance to Zuko.

As well as taking in all of the information given, the young prince also couldn't help but admire Mai's precise and detailed descriptions, there was a lot about this girl which he was still to learn, and everything so far had been a pleasant surprise, to say the least.

'Well here we are' said Mai suddenly, indicating an ornate door in a wing of the palace.

Zuko frowned slightly, there was still a lot he wanted to talk about.

'Do you know the way to your own quarters from here?' asked Mai pleasantly. Also being a little disappointed that she hadn't been able to think of an even longer path to her temporary residence.

'I should find it easily enough?' replied Zuko. As well as having a great sense of direction, Mai's very indirect way to her quarters had actually shown him a great deal of the palace.

'So I'll see you tonight at dinner then?' asked Mai.

Zuko thought about this for a second, he didn't actually know where the dining hall was, this being one of the few rooms that he had yet to see. Even though he could have asked one of the few servants that were still in the palace, another idea sprung quickly to mind.

'I don't actually know where the dining room is,' admitted Zuko honestly, 'Would it be possible for you to come and collect me fifteen minutes before the start of dinner?'

Somehow the thought of having Mai there suddenly made even the idea of eating with Azula seem less irritating.

'I would be glad to' replied Mai happily, 'I'll see you at quarter to six.'

Mai turned to open her door, there being no need to keep the door locked. Once she stepped through she turned to see Zuko still standing there.

'We should take the opportunity to talk again sometime' said Zuko pleasantly, his expression being the most relaxed it had been in ages.

'I would like that' replied Mai confidently.

Zuko nodded respectfully before turning to walk down the hall, his mind already full of things that needed to be done.

Mai watched him walk away, noting the posture and power in his simple steps. An honest smile appeared on her face, this was going to be very interesting.

_--_

_Well there you go, quite aggressive and quick, but he's a __bit of a mess and Mai takes no crap… a perfect combination… Considering Zuko's mentality, he needs a bit of order and stability, and Mai's just the girl to do it. It turned out better then I expected, hope it is enjoyable for you all out there, I like to flush out my characters a little, to show that they are all human, I hope I did that without showing Zuko to be too whiny or useless or Mai too cold, that would just be too easy and take away from what I like about the characters… let me know what you think. :-) _

_Still more to come, and trouble at that, they're not together yet!_

_--_


	4. Chapter 4

'The icy inferno'

Part 4

Mai and Azula

--

_O.K. time for a bit more on Mai, this time with Azula, now that just has to be an interesting dynamic, particularly when concerning dear Zuzu… _

_--_

Mai glided down the corridor, her long soft step not making a noise as she walked apprehensively towards Azula's quarters. She could see the large ornate wooden double doors up ahead, flanked by two Dai Li agents. Azula had taken the kings own quarters as her own.

Mai slowed a little as she approached a small alcove in the corridor. It jutted from the palace walls and allowed a small space to sit away from the walkway. Mai knew that she had been summoned straight away, but as far as she was concerned, Azula could wait, she had to clear her mind a little. Taking a seat in the alcove Mai crossed her legs, one arm leaning on the windowsill as she looked out into the star filled night, the lights of Ba-Sing-Se glistening off in the distance.

Mai wondered where Zuko was, it had been almost a week since their talk at the baths and though she saw him at dinner and at breakfast, she had only had the briefest chance to talk to him alone since then. Mai's free time had suddenly been shortened considerably, as Azula once again found uses for her two close friends. Zuko too was now busy; he had made his presence known to the Fire Nation generals quickly and had started to assert his authority within the first few days, much to the annoyance of Azula it would appear. Mai smiled, her Zuko was back, but unfortunately his renewed activities had made it even less likely that the two could meet up under normal circumstances.

Mai was at least pleased to note that Zuko paid her considerably more attention and kindness during their few meetings. She could sense that he was also disappointed with their inability to have more time together. But Zuko being Zuko, this was only a side note in his current renewed field of interest, and he made no particularly special effort in her direction, much to Mai's disappointment.

There was however, something between the two, and it was obvious enough for all around them to notice, something which Mai now considered unfortunate, considering the conversation that she was about to have with Azula.

Zuko's sister had initially raised an eyebrow at the two arriving together for Zuko's first appearance to dinner, but to her credit Azula had remained civil and reserved while judging this new development; or at least, as civil as she was capable of. Mai instead had to contend with an overactive Ty Lee, whose insinuations and chattiness had made the first dinner decidedly uncomfortable until Mai shot her friend a glare that could nail wood to a tree.

Zuko to his credit had played the whole matter down, instead quickly moving onto more official matters regarding the occupation. Azula's attempts to dismiss his renewed interest were met with steely determination, much to Mai's enjoyment, and had put Azula onto the back foot. What followed was a subtle but intense game of indirect verbal power positioning between the two siblings. Zuko had seemingly managed to get considerable concessions from his sister; this was apparent from Azual's sudden bad mood, something which always happened when the younger fire princess did not get her way.

Mai put in a lot of effort so as not to smile during the dinner. It appeared that the matter had been settled by the evening of the next day, it was about this time that Azula had called her friends back into service, an indication that Zuko had again managed to interrupt her plans somewhat.

During the next few meals Azula slowly calmed, but it was obvious that she was not entirely happy with the current developments. It was during this time that Zuko and Mai's new closeness had made itself more apparent; with the morning and evening meals being about their only contact, both put in extra effort to pay attention to the other.

Ty Lee had naturally pestered Mai no end after her and Zuko's first appearance together; Ty Lee knowing more of Mai's feelings towards the prince. Mai had provided a lot of information to her friend, but not all. Though Mai mostly trusted Ty Lee, trust was not enough when someone like Azula was in the game, and Mai could never be 100 sure of Ty Lee's loyalties.

So here she was, about to talk to Azula about her intentions towards Zuko. Mai smiled ironically then frowned, deeply unsure about the upcoming conversation. Though Azula had known of the crush, she had obviously never taken it too seriously. But that had changed… Mai had long known this conversation would come if she was ever successful in gaining Zuko's attention, but that didn't mean she could ever be prepared for it. Azula was simply too unpredictable… she was going to have to be extra careful.

Mai took a deep breath. Standing back up, she walked towards Azula's residence, a determined look in her eyes.

The Dai Li agents opened the door without hesitation, Mai walked through casually, turning to walk towards the private study, sure that this was where Azula was waiting. Another Dai Li agent opened a second door and Mai walked through.

Azula looked up from the document she was currently studying. The fire princess was leaning back into her large leather armchair, her legs up on the corner of the massive polished desk. To one side an impressive fire was lit. Above the mantelpiece hung the fire nation flag, draped across a portrait of some dead king.

'Mai' Azula said pleasantly, 'So good of you to come straight away.'

'Azula' replied Mai mechanically in greeting.

'Take a seat, take a seat,' offered Azula, indicating towards a small table in the middle of the large room where tea and cake had been set up. 'I organised us a little something' Azula said happily.

Mai looked over at the table, pausing for only a second before she made her way over and took a seat.

Azula threw the document on the table, before getting up and strolling to the fireplace.

'Be good enough to poor us some tea would you' said Azula with a smile, inspecting a random object.

Mai blinked before preparing the tea dutifully.

'You would consider us good friends, wouldn't you Mai?' said Azula, her voice over innocent.

'Certainly' replied Mai automatically.

'And friends tell each other everything, don't they?'

Mai took in the loaded question. She had finished pouring the tea and had decided to share out the cake. Mai never liked Azula's way of questioning, it was designed to intimidate, and Mai had long developed a counter for this, be direct.

'You have long known about my feelings for Zuko' said Mai simply, cutting off Azula's line of questioning.

'Yes… the crush' said Azula teasingly.

'I actually thought you had gotten over that'

Azula's tone indicating that she found the whole matter uninteresting.

Mai didn't answer the statement, simply taking a sip of her tea, she knew how do handle Azula's conversations.

'It would appear that the feelings were not forgotten however' Azula said while trailing her finger across the mantelpiece, 'and surprisingly, it would appear that there is a chance that these feelings could be returned.'

Azula rubbed her finger and thumb together as if inspecting some annoying speck of dust.

Mai ignored the 'surprised' comment as a cheep shot designed to unsettle her.

'I was just wondering how this came to be?' Azula asked, turning around and leaning against the mantelpiece.

'We met in the gardens and talked, that's all' answered Mai.

'Really' said Azula, not giving anything away. 'The last time I saw Zuko before his appearance at dinner he was a blubbering mess. I was just wondering, how did you manage to transform him so quickly, just with a simple talk?'

Mai didn't reply immediately, causing Azula to speak again.

'I only ask because of my concern for my brother, you understand'

Mai raised an eyebrow. She had actually known Azula for a long time, and if asked would have considered her a friend just on the face of it… but this was now more a matter of historical context then her current feelings towards the dangerous woman standing in front of her. Azula's change had been gradual, just like Mai had changed over the last few years, their friendship now was more a matter of mutual convenience, though their long history made it a subtle intertwined relationship, even if no longer particularly close.

'I simply reminded him of who he was, and what his duties are as a leader of his people.'

Azula frowned slightly, thinking of the current resurgent interest of her brother, and the annoyance that it caused her.

'You sure did that,' said Azula, a hint of annoyance present in her voice.

'Don't misunderstand me, I am grateful that he has come out of his little hole' continued Azula, knowing that her last statement would not have come across positively.

'But it would appear that you did too good a job, his current involvement is a… bothersome distraction, you see' Azula continued with a smile, as if seeking sympathy of some kind.

'He is the prince of the Fire Nation' said Mai automatically, with a slight amount of defiance.

Azula stopped what she was doing. Mai knew she had just slipped up and was annoyed with herself for having a sudden rush of emotions, this was not like her.

Azula couldn't figure out if she should be pleased or angry regarding the outburst. Though being disrespectful and placing Mai's loyalty in question, it had shown Azula something about Mai she had long searched for, a weakness.

'It would appear your feelings towards Zuko are a lot stronger then I had assumed' said Azula eventually, her smile putting Mai into more discomfort then a retort would have.

'I never made secret my desire to have a relationship with Zuko' said Mai, truing to bring her thoughts back in order.

'Really… but you also never discussed your intentions openly, not even to a person whose Zuko's well-being is so important to.'

Azula had moved closer to the table, her tone and physical stature conveying well enough her displeasure regarding the statement. Azula found the whole subject somewhat disrespectful, and was looking for some type of concession.

Mai locked eyes with the fire princess, Mai was fighting hard to suppress a resurgence of her new emotions, they were unstable and dangerous, particularly given her current environment… she would have to be careful.

'Naturally I would only pursue a further relationship with your approval,' said Mai coldly, bowing her head slightly, respectfully.

Azula smiled smugly, it was good that Mai still knew her place. Azula turned to face the large open doors to the balcony outside, taking a few steps towards the desk.

'Of course I'm delighted that one of my friends has caught the interest of my brother, you would make a lovely couple' Azula said happily, now that Mai had finally submitted to her judgement.

Mai couldn't read Azula's statement at all, remaining neutral.

'Its important that Zuzu has a strong woman by his side, one that I know will not lead him astray, and one that will help him to… find his place.'

Mai frowned ever so slightly, being the only external indication of her unstable mind's attempts to calm itself. Mai had gotten used to being patronised herself, and she had always shrugged off Azula's remarks regarding her brother. Suddenly however, it was as if a monster had been released inside her head, seemingly lashing out at any attack upon Zuko, it was ridiculous, they weren't even together yet. Mai struck down her wayward thoughts.

'We are not together yet' Mai reminded Azula, and herself.

'Oh that won't be a problem' said Azula confidently, moving over she sat beside Mai, taking her cup of tea into her hands.

'I think I can help you there in fact' continued Azula confidently.

'It's not as easy as you think…' interrupted Mai, guessing Azula's intentions before she even had a chance to state them.

Azula gave a questioning glance, taking a sip of her tea.

'He is now focused on being a Fire Prince again, I won't be able to distract him as much as you would like.'

Mai's comment had a hint of pride behind it, despite the seeming contradiction regarding her own intentions.

Azula took in the information at face value.

'Yes' Azula admitted, taking another sip of tea, 'however, any distraction would be useful at the moment… You see, he's been through such a traumatic time with his banishment and all… I just don't want him to take on too much responsibility at once.'

Azula was using her most concerned sounding voice, Mai had to remind herself not to role her eyes. Zuko was obviously making a lot of problems for Azula, Mai internally smiled.

'He needs time to recuperate, find his orientation, settle into the new order. And you're just the woman to help him.'

Mai smiled dangerously, and she let it show. She knew that Azula would now actively assist her to achieve her aims. Things could not have worked out more perfectly.

Azula was actually pleased to see the dangerous smile; this was more like the Mai she knew. Mai's recent actions and open disrespect had not been normal. Azula couldn't even begin to understand these odd feelings Mai was having towards her brother, the whole subject of emotional attachment being seen by her as a weakness, pure and simple...

'You'll be happy to know that I've arranged it so that the two of you will be spending considerably more time together.'

Mai took a piece of cake and took a bite, now more relaxed.

'How so?' asked Mai.

The fire princess was also suddenly more at ease, her plan seemingly coming together nicely.

'There are numerous rebellions occurring in the outlying towns, obviously not all of the Earth Kingdom realises that they have been conquered.'

'There are also numerous rebellions here' commented Mai calmly, remembering some of her numerous tasks of late.

'I know…' said Azula, 'and the rebellion here would be handled a lot more… 'efficiently' if a certain element was removed.'

Though Zuko had only been interfering for a few days he had quickly ensured that some of the more… enthusiastic suppression techniques were removed from the occupational doctrine of the Fire Nation army, he had even began to restrict some of the actions of the Dai Li. In addition to this he had organised food and coordinated efforts to bring the lives of the citizens back to normal.

As far as Azula was concerned the population needed to know that it had been conquered, it needed to know who was now in charge. With no fear there was no order, and Zuko playing the role of a Fire Nation Saint didn't help matters at all.

Mai smiled again, her new sanctioned target was Prince Zuko himself; she was going to enjoy this a lot more then her previous missions. Mai ignored the insinuations regarding the 'efficiency' comment of Azula, though Mai assumed it meant nothing good for the Earth Kingdom population in general, she deliberately pushed the matter out of her mind, she had become quite good at detaching herself like that… It was none of her business; she would focus on what was at hand.

'Zuko won't accept some small task in the backwaters' commented Mai, now actively aiding Azula in their combined scheme, the comment was her honest assessment.

'Oh it's nothing small; it's a full rebellion of a regional capital and the surrounding villages.

It will actually take the two of you to sort it out I would imagine, in additional to a full division.'

Azula gave Mai a smile.

'The perfect opportunity for the two of you to spend more time together.'

Mai had to agree, but somehow she couldn't believe that it was all that straight forward.

'You're giving him such an important task?'

'As you said, he won't accept anything else. Anyway, I'm interested to see how the prince of piece handless a full armed rebellion, particularly when he has only reservists under his control.' Azula's smile was evil, her enjoyment at the continued manipulation apparent.

Mai for her part was not particularly surprised, she expected nothing else from Azula, this was not going to be easy… still though, she would be with Zuko, and that was enough to keep a small smile on her face…

_--_

Hmmmm… not too sure, I think it works. In the back of my mind I keep trying to see the scenes as they would appear in a cartoon, just to ensure that I'm not slipping too far out of the realms of the series… but it isn't easy. Had to make some assumptions here, but I think it works in context of season three and continues to flush out the characters and their complex relationships. Well, hope it was entertaining, let me know what you think, even short reviews are appreciated and keep me going 

_--_


	5. Chapter 5

'The icy inferno'

Part 5

Mai and Zuko

--

_I consider Mai and Zuko's relationship __to be one of the most complex out there, particularly as I give both characters too much credit to fall for bland simplifications in regards to their bonds. I view it as something unstable and continually divided, yet mutually depended with a high degree of subconscious empathy. So how did it get to this complex state? Why through insanely complex circumstances and interactions of course! _

_--_

Mai's hair played in the cool evening breeze as the trees of the forest swayed gently around her. The moss covered rock she was sitting on was located on the banks of a small creek, its crystal clear water bubbling soothingly. It had taken a while to find such a nice spot, but it had been worth it; the only sound was the gentle rustle of leaves and the trickling of water. She closed her eyes and breathed in deeply. Mai looked completely at ease; it was only after you took a closer look that you noticed that her hands were still shaking.

In the plains that were only a few hundred meters away beyond the forest's edge many indications of the recent fierce battle were still evident. The last of the fires were still being extinguished. Mai extended her hand, inspecting the bandages that were easily visible underneath her torn robe. The cold natured girl frowned, she would have to get a new robe sent … at least the bleeding had stopped.

It was odd, it was as if her clinical detached nature was reinforcing itself, trivially focusing on her robe allowed her to ignore many other thoughts that where urgently vying for her attention, many to horrible… and too recent to want to contemplate fully.

Mai had long had practice in this skill, filing unwanted feelings and memories away quickly; but this time had been harder; perhaps it was that there were simply too many experiences at once.

An image flashed in front of Mai's vision, the look of hatred in an earth benders eyes, the shock and pain of a fire bending solider that had been struck down next to her. And then there had been Zuko, furious… scared, and still in control… Mai clenched her eyes shut for a second, disbanding the intruding thoughts. Perhaps if she went through the recent events in her mind she could categorise her emotionally laden thoughts, dismiss them more efficiently; anything was better then letting them spring up at random… Mai was in no mood to break down, not now… not ever.

With a huff, Mai lay back, putting her hands behind her head. Above her there was a break in the canopy and she could see that the sky had been turned a deep orange in the late evening sun. The odd colour was created by the thick haze of ash and dust from the battle, thrown high into the air by the fire and explosions. Mai frowned again. Taking a deep breath, she put aside her resurgent emotions, trying to think back to when it had all started…

Mai remembered back over the last few days. The so called opportunity to spend more intimate time with Zuko had turned out to be anything but. She had had very little time alone with him their entire journey to the conflict area and being surrounded by strange men and soldiers didn't exactly put her in a flirtatious frame of mind when she had been in his company. Zuko, for his part, only gave her fleeting glances; himself to busy helping to lead the troops for romantic thoughts.

It had turned out that the General in charge of the division was an old aristocrat that had only been given his rank because of his family's title. The old man had been called up to take charge of the young rag-tag division with the belief that they would never see action. His one redeeming feature had been that he actually knew he was a fraud, incapable of effectively leading soldiers into combat. This had meant that Zuko had been able to take over command without issue.

Mai could just see Azula laughing to herself, knowing full well that she had sent Zuko out undermanned and without experienced military leadership. There was a good chance that it could be a costly victory, if a victory at all. Mai couldn't help but smile at the fact that Zuko had taken charge so effectively, even if it did meant less time with her.

It had all been quite frustrating for the normally calm young lady. Surprisingly, born from this frustration had developed another way for the two young adults to enjoy each others limited company even more, Mai's sarcastic humour and quick wit had been appreciated by Zuko, and to her great enjoyment, he wasn't half bad at it himself. The two would often seemingly try to outdo each other in dark humour, often ending in chuckles… yes, Mai had even laughed once, honestly and whole heartedly, it was amazing and astounding and she didn't care who heard.

Mai had continued to be honest and informative, telling Zuko as much as she could regarding her suspicions in Azula's motivations. It was a dangerous balancing act. Mai knew that she would have to be careful not to give away too much information, just in case anything ever got back to Azula; her feelings towards Zuko had made her reckless, but not suicidal.

The two had worked closely, Mai seemingly taking a stake in the endeavour due to Zuko's involvement. Normally, any sort of attachment to any undertaken was expressly avoided by the cold natured young woman, but somehow she couldn't help but become a part of it, not when Zuko invested so much. It had actually felt good. She could say one thing for certain; it had definitely not been boring, not after Zuko had asked her to lead small scouting missions. She had even gained a type of admiration from the troops. After the story went around about how she had nailed an earth bending spy to a tree with one flick of her wrist from over a hundred paces away, she was handled with considerably more respect.

It had almost been enough to make her forget how much she disliked working in the field. Though she complained about her rigorous cleansing back home when she was younger, obviously some of it had grown on her. Mai had become accustomed to certain standards, and though she tolerated a lot, she always appreciated her privileged life more when she returned to it.

This state of belonging had quickly come back to haunt her though, and she suddenly remembered why not attaching yourself to people was such an advantage, particularly after the ambush only a few hours ago…

Zuko was riding a war rhino near Mai's transport somewhere in the centre of the long military column which was travelling through a partially cleared lower valley. The fire prince could see Mai smiling through the soft transparent cloth the shrouded her carriage. She was brushing her hair, resting after a longer scouting tour that morning.

…I would have made him eat his stupid hat, but he was unfortunate looking enough as it was.´ commented Mai, causing Zuko to chuckle.

´You really shouldn't intimidate the captives quite so much Mai´ said Zuko light heartedly.

Mai raised an eyebrow in anticipation.

The Earth Kingdoms scouts smell bad enough before you but them into a cold sweat.´

Now it was Mai's turn to chuckle.

She was cut short however when a fireball suddenly appeared from a forest surrounding the cleared valley that the division was moving through. It was towards the front of the column and was followed by an explosion of dust. There was a shout and another explosion of dust towards the rear of the column.

Ambush! shouted Zuko without hesitation, he had already drawn his sword and was turning his animal to rally the troops.

'Draw weapons! Form into attack groups! Defend the supply columns!' bellowed Zuko's voice throughout the flat valley. The Fire nation soldiers had barely had enough time to half prepare before their world exploded.

The earth benders had literally buried themselves beside the road waiting for the column to pass almost on top of them. The earth shook, the air was filled with dust. Luckily for the Fire Nation solders the attack had been spotted early and the ambush had not split the column as expected. Zuko's instant call to arms coupled with the earth kingdom soldier's moments hesitation had given the column a fighting chance.

Mai had to dive out of her transport as a bolder come in form the side, smashing the delicate frames.

Zuko turned in shock, jumping from his war rhino he spun in the air before landing in a kneeling position. With a sweep of his blade, his built up energy sent an impressive wall of flame towards the suddenly appeared earth benders on the forests edge nearby, instantly stopping their advance.

'Are you ok?' he asked concerned.

'Fine' said Mai darkly, brushing herself off.

Zuko's focus switched instantly to saving his soldiers. With skilful leadership and excessive personal bravery the ambush was quickly routed, but not without cost, the fighting had been fears, from both sides.

Mai had assisted, it had been confusing close combat and she had been knocked around considerably. Mai hated fighting like this, she had been scared and she detested that. Zuko hadn't helped in this regard at all, his complete disregard to his own safety had been bad enough, but he had continually expected Mai to re-enter the battle, something which she had done dutifully, though somewhere deep down she had resented it.

She was not a common soldier, her place was not on the front line, and neither was Zuko's… She was bruised, cut and had seen things… that she really didn't care to remember. Her normal missions were short, precise and most importantly, quick. She always had control, she could always retreat, or at least, that was what she had always told herself.

Briefly after the battle's end Mai had even assisted in tending to the badly wounded for a short time, but this had seemingly been a mechanical reflex, as soon as her mind had emerged from its state of shock its first reaction was to flood itself with emotions, to which she saw only one honourable exit. After she had tended to her own wounds she had simply left to be alone, much to Zuko's shock and seeming disappointment. Mai honestly didn't care at that moment, she was simply too angry at Zuko… and if she was honest, with herself as well….

Mai re-emerged from her reminiscing, once again alone in a small world of calm, sitting on a rock beside a picturesque creek. Coming out of her trance-like recollection she noticed that she had sat back up and had automatically started to clean her weapons. Her busy hands stopped their work as she looked down at what she had been doing, Mai blinked, realisation came that a few blades actually had blood on them… this was most unusual, despite the cold assassin façade she always displayed.

This is how the searching Zuko found her, seemingly completely unconcerned about any lingering earth kingdom soldiers.

'Mai, what's wrong… are you ok?' asked Zuko, appearing beside a large tree. He was out of breath, he had obviously been searching for her for some time.

Mai didn't answer, her mind was too crowded at that moment, but her anger shined bright in its centre. She shot him an annoyed side glance.

'You shouldn't be out here on your own…' continued Zuko

'I can take care of myself' said Mai automatically. Realising what she had just said contradicted what she felt, she rolled her eyes as a reflex. She was being ridiculous, damn this situation she found herself in, and all of this mess because of her feelings for Zuko.

'I know that, but still…'

'You obviously take it a little too much for granted actually' Mai interrupted suddenly.

Zuko paused, becoming confused; he wasn't expecting this type of conversation and couldn't understand what the sudden problem was.

'Look Zuko' continued Mai bluntly, too irritated to wait until Zuko understood, if he ever would. 'You and I are not soldiers; the risks you took today were just… ridiculous.'

Zuko looked mildly offended, but then more confused then anything else.

'They're our soldiers…' he said confidently enough.

'That's right, they're soldiers, fighting is what they do. They have their role, and we have ours.'

Zuko suddenly thought he understood.

'I can't expect them to do anything more for me then I would do for them' he said defiantly.

'You can't do anything for them if you're dead Zuko' Mai retorted, 'Your role is to lead your men, not die beside them.'

Mai threw down the blade she was cleaning. It made a quite audible crack, punctuating her sentence perfectly.

Zuko stood for a moment, taking in yet another side of Mai.

'Don't tell me how to act' Zuko commanded in a steady voice, the strength and determination rising quickly out of nowhere. 'I am not a coward. I'll fight in the middle if I have to, for myself, and for my people.'

Zuko didn't know where his actions before had sprung from, maybe his time alone had worn away his learned view of being above his countryman. All he knew was that it had felt right. His actions had instantly been reinforced be his solders reaction to his leadership; they had surged forward as one, quickly taking control of the battle and routing an initially confident attack, saving many lives and taking many prisoners.

Mai felt the conviction in Zuko's voice, but was herself still too annoyed to concede anything, this was not what she had been taught.

'Then remember that we all don't think that way' Mai said coldly.

Zuko deflated slightly, trying to get her meaning, he was having trouble following Mai's train of thought. Strangely enough, this confusion wasn't resulting in his normal response of anger. Deep down he obviously really wanted to help Mai it seemed… she had grown on him.

Zuko's blank expression subconsciously eased Mai's aggression.

'I am not a front line fighter Zuko' she said flatly, 'you can't expect me to stay on your side under such conditions…'

Realisation suddenly hit Zuko, it was as if Mai's injuries suddenly became more apparent to him. Genuine concern crossed his face.

'Mai.. look… I…'

'It's fine,' interrupted Mai, 'just… don't put me in that situation again.'

Zuko stood motionless for a second, trying to think of a way to talk to the girl.

'The soldiers really appreciated your efforts today' he offered, his voice even and business like, stating a simple fact that he hoped would lift her mood.

Mai didn't react, a hint of pride snuck into her thoughts, unfortunately this positive feeling left a small avenue for other emotion to get in as well, and an unhappy vision of a solder she actually recognised getting badly injured forced its way through. Mai hated these conflicting feelings. Angrily, she forced the rising emotions out of her mind before it had a chance to affect her. She turned away from Zuko to avoid any further eye contact. She had to pull herself together, and quickly.

'They were actually rather worried when you just got up and left.'

'I am not a nurse either damn it!' Mai spat out angrily, her emotions bleeding out into sudden hostility.

Zuko looked shocked for a second, but Mai's comment did not come out as cold and unfeeling as she had hoped. Zuko moved closer hesitantly, he was completely unsure of how to act, so simply followed his instincts. He put a reassuring hand on her shoulder, 'Do you want to talk about it?'

Mai didn't want to talk about it, she really didn't, not normally and definitely not now. As far as Mai was concerned Zuko was in no position to ask in any case.

'No Zuko' she said bitterly, 'I don't want to talk about it.'

Mai paused for a second before continuing.

'Just like you don't want to talk about your uncle, or the time after your banishment.'

Zuko's hand jumped slightly, it clenched into a fist and then flexed out. Suddenly it was his head that was full of different emotions, mostly anger and concern… a very odd mix.

Zuko frowned; again he acted on instinct, his hand came down again and sat momentarily on Mai' shoulder, giving it a light reassuring squeeze before removing itself.

Mai didn't resent the contact at all, in fact it provided great comfort, particularly as it was not accompanied by words.

Zuko walked away calmly but with a grimace on his face, there was nothing more he could say.

'Zuko' came Mai's voice, her tone strong but still soft.

Zuko turned where he was.

'I want to help' Mai said honestly, 'just utilise my skills more appropriately next time.'

Zuko took in the words… he nodded in acknowledgment.

Turning again, he moved off to return to the soldiers, there was still much more to organise. His ever more confused impression of Mai would have to wait… something he was actually very grateful for.

--

_There you go, that gives a good avenue for Mai's seeming disregard for Zuko's feelings later on, she's not the type of girl to open up straight away. This hopefully shows how Zuko's bond could grow with her while she still remains in character, I mean he can appreciate that she doesn't want to talk about it, that's something they really do have in common. _

_Oh wait, they still have to get together, he he he… next chapter to follow… _

_--_


	6. Chapter 6

'The icy inferno'

Part 6

Mai and Zuko

--

_O.K. enough of this here and there, time to get these two together… not that I have much of a choice, I consider them __hooking-up a critical factor in them maintaining a bond at all! As they say, not all love interests make the best of friends… _

_--_

Zuko moved silently along the rooftops. The evening had not yet fully turned to night and his dark silhouette was illuminated by the many fires that had sprung up in the regional capital due to the bombardment. Despite the occasionally burning building lighting the night, there was little chance that he would be noticed by the earth kingdom soldiers and militia running around bellow. To the east, the fire nation division was massing for an attack and with many earth kingdom soldiers captured after the failed ambush, every man was needed to try and hold off the fire nation reservists.

Sliding down a section of piping, Zuko jumped down into an alcove before putting his back to the wall. His focused eyes scanned the surroundings intently. He couldn't help but feel that he had forgotten something. He was wearing a similar outfit to that which he had worn when masquerading as the blue spirit, simply now minus the mask. Though there was no reason to hide his face anymore, he couldn't help but feel a little… exposed.

He saw another dark figure moving to his left, Mai seemingly materialised from the shadow, more like a ghost then a solid person. Zuko was very happy to know that this mysterious and dangerous girl was on his side. Behind Mai were two Dai Li agents, apparently slightly out of breath from following the surprisingly athletic young aristocrat.

'We just neutralised the rearguard patrol' said Mai calmly.

Zuko nodded, though he had come up with the plan to feign an attack and infiltrate the capital, Mai had been playing an active part from the planning phase and had proven more then capable numerous times already.

'The attack will begin soon, it wont be too long before they realise it's a trick if all goes to plan.'

'Do you think that coward general will give up too soon?' asked Mai sceptically.

'I'm actually more worried that he'll follow through' replied Zuko, 'they have a good chance of wining, even with such an obvious frontal attack. But it will cost lives on both sides.'

The fire from a nearby building lit Zuko's features. Mai looked across to see the level of concentration in his expression. He really meant it about the men, his… and the earth kingdoms. Despite Mai's comments just after the ambush, she felt a sense of pride at the notion; anyway, this was more like the way she did things, and if it meant that she was saving lives, well then, all the better.

Zuko, for his part, was just glad the long and obvious build-up of segue weapons had allowed the evacuation of the civilian population. The bombardment had been intense to keep up appearances, though he had been sure to keep it concentrated on the outer fortifications, which had actually resulted in a few large breaches. The rebel's position really was hopeless; it was now only a matter of getting the rebel leaders to see this fact before needless lives were wasted.

'I captured one of the messenger runners' said Zuko suddenly, 'the leaders are coordinating from that large building over there.'

Mai looked over to where Zuko was pointing with his drawn sword. The large fort-like building was at the highest point of the town and offered a good view of the attack. It had high walls with a walkway around the top before the last story, it was not the type of building were you could burst in through the front door easily.

'This is not going to be easy' said Zuko darkly, it was obvious that he was not looking forward to the upcoming direct confrontation; he had been hoping that it wouldn't come to this.

'Hold it right there prince frontal assault,' said Mai calmly.

Zuko looked across to see Mai smiling, her calculating eyes studying the building.

'This is my area of expertise… you want to avoid hearting people don't you?'

Zuko looked doubtful.

'Even you can't silence numerous guards at once with your knives, at least not without killing them.'

Mai's smile remained steady; she looked back at the Dai Li agents, who simply nodded knowingly.

'You'll find our comrades here have infinite uses' said Mai shrewdly, suddenly she was very glad to have the capable earth benders with her on this mission. It was highly probable that Azula had originally sent them to keep tabs on her and Zuko, but in the end they still had to follow orders.

'We'll go straight over the wall, me and one of the agents first, followed by you and the other one. You go straight for the door and wait, I'll try and round up the lookouts but if I get spotted… well, you'll just have to show me some more of your suicidal heroism won't you' Mai said, her final comment coming across teasingly.

Zuko gave her a cheeky smile; it had not taken long for Mai to return to her old self after that encounter by the creek. She had obviously wanted to put it behind her as quickly as possible and Zuko had been only too glad to oblige. He was just happy to have her back to normal… or at least, as normal as Mai got. Zuko had also noticed, however, that she once again took a cold, unattached attitude towards the soldiers, something he had been rather disappointed about.

A large explosion from the east indicated that the battle was intensifying.

'Right, let's go' said Zuko confidently.

Mai nodded, and was running in front of Zuko in a flash. Zuko ran behind her, flanked by the two Dei Li agents who glided across the fluid rocks below them. The small group turned a corner, before heading straight down a large ally towards the shear wall ahead of them.

The Two Dei Li agents accelerated to move beside Mai as she sprinted towards the large three story wall. One of them abruptly stopped and seemingly jumped into the air before landing in an instantly formed crater. His momentum, he pushed forward, a column of earth shooting out from below Mai and catapulting her into the air. The second Dai Li agent threw his hands out behind him and catapulted himself into the air in a similar fashion. The two figures flew high, clearing the parapet walls perfectly.

Zuko slowed slightly as the second Dai Lei agent prepared for another burst. Finding himself flying high, Zuko barely cleared the top wall with a summersault before landing smartly in a crouched position.

Beside him he saw two guards pined to the wall and floor, Mai's daggers holding their limbs firmly in place, while a solid clump of earth around their mouths muzzled any alarm call. Zuko smiled devilishly.

Beside him, the second agent landed elegantly.

Around the corner they could hear some muffled exclamations as Mai dispatched more guardsman.

Zuko moved to one of the large windows. Withdrawing his sword, he angled the mirror-finished blade so as to see around the corner.

There were about eight men; Zuko could easily make out the leader, he was obviously a rich man, if the ostentatious armour he was wearing was anything to go by.

There was a muffled thud, but it was loud enough for everyone inside to her, the eight men turned.

'Guards! What is going on out there?' called one of the men angrily.

Back outside in the dark, Zuko spoke a quick command to the agent.

'Head around the other side and come in through the wall when you hear me go in.'

The Dei Li agent nodded and sped off immediately.

Zuko took a couple of steps back from the large heavy wooden door. He inhaled the cool evening air deeply, a chain of flame beginning to form along the sword he held in one hand.

There was a shout from the other side of the parapet, followed by an explosion of stone on stone.

Zuko weight was on his back foot, the small flame on his raised sword arm had now grown into a long whip of fire, while his other clenched hand was held to his chest, a bright light indicating a build up of energy.

Leaping forward, Zuko spun in mid air, swinging his clenched arm to backhand the ball of energy towards the door, in the same motion he spun on his axis and brought the whip of flame around in a wide slash immediately afterwards.

Inside the room, the eight earth benders barely had time to shield themselves from the explosion that vaporised the door, only a few had the sense to raise a protective shield of stone as a wall of flame suddenly entered the room an instant afterwards; the wall of light affectively blowing away any smoke or debris before it had even had a chance to form.

Zuko rushed in through the newly created opening.

Of the eight, only two veterans were in a state to react quickly. One punching a bolder towards the fire prince; which he vaporised with a flaming slash of his sword.

The young prince dove as the second earth bender sent a jagged series of spikes along the stone floor.

That earth bender was himself blindsided as a section of wall collected him on the way through. Turning around, the other veteran barely had time to deflect a stone fist before he was pinned by two daggers to his own stone shield.

Mai used one of the columns in the large window to effectively swing in through the opening; she landed flatly, spinning on the ground before releasing another volley of darts from her ankle which nailed one of the still stunned eight to the wall. Mai dove again as one of the other recovered earth benders sent a section of wall at her.

The shocked leader of the earth benders was back on his feet, himself very distressed to find that battle this close to home; this was not what he had had in mind. In front of him, the situation was deteriorating rapidly, Zuko had advanced and knocked out another earth bender by throwing him into the wall, the two Dei Li agents were exchanging blows with the others, and he had lost track of that damn girl.

Panicking, the large soft man threw his hands down flat, a massive, thick could of dust exploded from his feet and quickly filled the room.

Seen from the cold, dark calm from outside on the parapet, a section of wall crumbled. The soft and frightened leader emerged from the thick dust cloud, coughing loudly. The sounds of shouts and curses indicating that the last of his men had fallen in the room he left behind.

Terrified eyes searched frantically for an escape.

A shadow dropped down behind the fleeing man and he suddenly felt something very cold and very sharp against his throat.

'You're lucky I'm here' said a calm, deadpan female voice, 'otherwise you would have been known as the coward who abandoned his troops for the rest of your pathetic little life.'

The rebel leader froze; sweat pouring down his shaking petrified face.

Down at the city walls, the fire nation division had indeed continued in their attack. It was only a matter of moments before the battle would have descended into a costly melee. As it was, the fire nation troops were able to fall back a bit in good order as they saw the signal from Zuko; an impressive fireball illuminating the night sky from the base of the centre of town. The outnumbered rebels turned to see the fire nation flag atop their highest tower, their leader pinned helplessly against a large column of earth nearby, courtesy of the Dai Li agents.

The offer to surrender without harm was barely necessary from the nearby fire nation soldiers as the tired and outnumbered mixture of militia and earth kingdom soldiers threw their weapons down, raising their hands into the air.

The events of that fateful night had taken place almost two week ago now. They seemed like a whole world away to the fire prince as he once again found himself alone in the earth kings palace back in the city of Ba-Sing-Se.

Despite the satisfaction and relief which had naturally sprung up after the victory, something else had appeared in Zuko's mind just as quickly, something which he couldn't suppress, something which simply wouldn't allow him to enjoy the success, no matter how often he was praised and congratulated by his soldiers.

Were he should have seen his rejoicing, victorious men, he only saw the dejected misery of the defeated masses. Where he was meant to see the mighty flags of the conqueror, he only saw the destroyed houses and the deserted streets. Zuko had been surrounded by the ecstatic mob, all wanting to shake his hand or pat him on the back. Zuko had smiled, played along… and it had been one of the most isolated experiences of his life.

Looking up from his folded hands, Zuko observed his current surroundings. He had found the perfect place for such thoughts; Zuko sat alone in an elegant but simple stone half-gazebo in the centre of one of the ridiculously large parade grounds that surrounded the central palace of Ba-Sing-Se. There was nothing surrounding the columned structure for a little more then a kilometre in any direction, it was like being in the middle of a perfectly flat desert. The lights of the city wall and the far-off palace complex he was facing made for a rather picturesque setting against the night's dark backdrop. Importantly, it ensured that there was no way anyone could sneak up on him, something Zuko wished he could accomplish in his own head just as well.

The victory in the regional capital was supposed to cement is mindset in the role he had always sought, the role of the leader of his people. But instead of finally putting his lingering doubts to rest it had simply opened up a way for them to return in force. Zuko had once again thrown himself into his work in an effort to ignore the resurfaced feelings. He had toiled non-stop to ensure that the conquered earth kingdom people were treated fairly. The shocked and grateful faces of the returned civilians in addition to the released prisoners was only a small testament to his efforts; the fact that his own troops didn't resent the additional labour, and in a small way even ended up feeling somewhat satisfied with their efforts in assisting the recent former enemy, was the far greater achievement of his shear power of persuasion and inspiring leadership.

Despite all this, he still couldn't look any earth kingdom civilian in the eye, it was all simply not enough… he had moved heaven and earth, and he still didn't think it enough…

He was the best leader he could be, and it was simply, not, enough!

Looking up, Zuko could see a lone figure walking the long distance from the palace complex. It would still take a fare few minutes before he could even recognised the still small silhouette, but Zuko knew exactly who it was, Mai.

Mai walked calmly across the cobblestones, the rhythmic movement of her cloth making a very faint sound, but still audible in the large, empty, quiet expanses of the parade ground.

To her, the current geography also matched her current mindset, she was completely exposed, with a very long journey required to reach her desired destination, Zuko. He was a destination that was also isolated, and in no way accommodating in making her travels easier.

Mai sighed, if only Zuko knew how much trouble he was causing her, perhaps he would be a little more appreciative. Hands folded within her long robes, she walked on.

After the victory at the regional capital, Mai had seen even less of Zuko then just before the battle. Though he showed respect, kindness and gratitude towards her during the short periods of time that they were together; Mai couldn't help but pick up on an undercurrent of uncertainty and awkwardness, something which gave her the impression that their relationship had taken a step back, not forwards. Mai had performed her duties and kept a close eye on Zuko from a distance, after a few days she had concluded that some of his previous uncertainty had returned to him. This was not something he showed openly, but Mai's observant nature allowed her to pick up on the giveaway signs.

She had decided to give him some distance, simply providing what support she could without making him feel more crowded, she had little idea of how to deal with his emotional turmoil, and didn't want to add to the mix.

This had meant that the young woman returned to the earth kingdom capital frustrated once more, something that wasn't helped by having to deal with an angry Azula upon her return.

Mai had sat quietly while an upset Azula vented her frustration. The fire nation princess had been brought fully up to speed thanks to her reports from the Dai Li. Azula displeasure at Zuko's success Mai simply ignored while internally smiling, it was her attack on Mai's inability to develop her relationship with Zuko which stung more, particularly because she was doubtful in this region herself.

With no idea on the matter herself, Azula criticized Mai's ability to seduce her man. Mai internally laughed at this, what experience did Azula think she had anyway? She was used to getting a man attention with the point of a blade, not through the battering of eyelids.

The final thinly veiled threat from Azula was designed to 'encourage' Mai, indicated that a different woman could possibly be called upon to do the 'job' of distracting her brother. Mai openly huffed at the notion, knowing that Zuko was in little mood for any woman, no matter what the type. In typical Mai fashion, she called Azula's bluff, before requesting leave in her cold uninterested voice, something a frustrated Azula had allowed.

And now she was walking towards Zuko, a new sense of determination building, there was a lot of pressure on her at the moment, internally and externally, it was time to act decisively.

The gazebo was a lot closer now and Mai thought she could just make out Zuko sitting leaning forward with his elbows on his legs, watching her calmly.

Though they had only been back for half a day Zuko had once again started to interrupt Azula's plans, it was obvious that he had not lost his determination to play his role... but somehow, it had lost its previous strength. Mai felt more then ever that Zuko portrayal of the perfect fire nation prince was a way to contain some type of uncertainty, a turmoil that had obviously resurfaced with some strength. Mai was pretty sure that if the turmoil won, she and the fire nation would lose him. This was evident enough from his sudden uncertainty towards her after the battle. Zuko obviously needed more bonds and reasons to stay, to play his role, and Mai knew exactly how she could engineer these bonds.

Zuko could make out Mai's features now; he couldn't help but smile at her steady blank expression. Even when being unemotional, the girl was still pretty, and it made him appreciate her smiles all the more, particularly as they seemed to be only for him. Zuko felt a sudden inner warmth, he had grown to appreciate Mai's quiet acceptance of him.

Even if she remained unpredictable and unreadable, he was able to pick up enough to believe that she accepted him for him. It had been a long time since he had felt this form anyone, even his uncle had continually wanted him to change…

The thought of his uncle brought a rush of guilt, something that had emerged again after the victory which was meant to have set his mind free. Poisoned thoughts quickly flushed Zuko's mind. Suddenly the doubt that Mai really accepted him for him returned. Perhaps she really was just faking-it to get close to him so as to be able to spy for Azule. No, he was being ridiculous, again. Still though, even if he did push this thought away he once more felt undeserving of acceptance. Zuko frowned… it was impossible to be around Mai at the moment without this emotional handicap showing itself. Though a part of him wanted to get closer to her, his mind would not leave him alone long enough to think anything coherent… the best he could do was be awkward and polite, something which resulted in frustration, usually leading to an abrupt ending.

While Zuko's mind had been racing, Mai had reached the gazebo.

Without a word, Mai calmly walked to Zuko's side and sat down close next to him, staring back at the palace she had just come from.

Zuko frowned, rubbing his hands together slowly while keeping has eyes firmly fixed to the horizon…

'Nice view' said Mai coldly, 'almost worth the ridiculous long walk it took to get here.'

Her tone had a hint of playful sarcasm. Zuko smiled, remembering back to the brief time when he had been at ease around Mai.

'Ya' he said.

The smile quickly faded however as guilt again sprung up, it was relentless and tiring… Suddenly he felt annoyed that Mai had disturbed his piece, if she wasn't here he would be able to calm down again, and it was a heck of a long walk back to the palace.

Mai could feel his agitation, becoming slightly annoyed, and if she admitted it, hurt by his physical reaction to her presence.

Zuko suddenly turned to face Mai, one of his random emotions winning out momentarily.

'What do you want Mai?' he asked impatiently, expecting some kind of message from his sister, he knew that she had been summoned to see her soon after they arrived back.

Mai was sitting upright and physically very close to Zuko. He looked straight into her eyes. Zuko could have sworn that he saw a moment of hurt shock pass through her normally piercing stare, something which froze his thoughts and body to the spot. A few seconds passed between them.

'Do you really not know?' she asked softly, not breaking eye contact. The comment came across as more of a statement of her exasperation with the situation, then disappointment or anger.

Zuko's mind was blank, his eyes unable to break away from the enigma that was Mai, and what she really meant to him.

In Mai's mind she had already made the decision to act. Though she would never admit it, she was mildly disappointed. Deep down, almost every girl secretly didn't mind the idea of being swept off her feet. But it was not to be, and Mai was not the type of girl to take it lying down.

Mai leaned forward, her movements starting slowly, then gradually accelerating to fluidly and quickly press herself against the stunned Zuko. One hand encircled his waste and the other moved behind his head before she tilted her own head to bring her mouth to his.

Zuko felt the soft warmth of her lips touch his own. She was applying only a mild amount of pressure, holding his head steady with her hand. Zuko jerked a bit as a reflex. Mai's grip tightened automatically to compensate without forcing her to apply any more pressure to the kiss. Zuko couldn't help but note the strength in the girl's increased hold, she was not going to be denied.

Mai's grip lightened immediately after Zuko's impulse, her hands sliding through his hair and along his skin. There was no excessive force; she was simply perfectly guiding the kiss from her side. Zuko's open eyes watched as her head began to straiten. Mai's eyes opened slowly, carrying with them a wealth of emotions well beyond Zuko's limited imagination. She removed her lips from his momentarily, before giving him a brief feather-light kiss while maintaining eye contact. Without breaking her relaxed but intense gaze, their noses briefly touched has she leaned her head the other way, her eyes slowly closing again as she initiated another, longer, sensual soft kiss.

Mai had no idea what she was doing, her last guided impulse had been to enjoy this kiss as much as possible, knowing full well that there was a chance it would be her only one with Zuko. That it had instantly been so intense was not her intention. Upon touching Zuko, it was as if a floodgate had opened in her mind, she was completely immersed, completely absorbed in her body's motions and reactions. This was one of the few times her logical mind gave way, and there was no way in hell her pent up emotions were not going to use this brief freedom to go all out.

Zuko shocked mind, though registering the wonderful sensations flowing through him, had barely enough time to lose himself in the moment. His eyes began to close and he was just starting to react to her initiative when she suddenly broke off contact.

Momentarily startled, Zuko had to blink a few times before he realised that Mai had pulled back a bit. Her hands had moved to his shoulder and hip, ensuring that she had control over the short distance she was maintaining.

There was a moments silence as both teens reorganised their thoughts a bit.

'I like you Zuko… a lot' said Mai calmly, her voice quieter then normal.

'I know you're working through some internal troubles' Mai continued, 'but by the look of it, the only one who can really help you there… is you.'

Zuko reacted only slightly to the comment; there was no real use in denying it. Zuko blinked a few times and then looked away automatically, as if slightly ashamed somehow.

Mai's hand moved to his cheek, gently guiding his head back around until he was looking her in the eyes again.

'I want to be by your side,' Mai said confidently, but somehow still gently.

'I want to help you to become the prince that you want to be.'

Zuko looked deep into her eyes, she really was being completely honest… or at least, she thought that she was being completely honest. The problem was that Zuko didn't know what type of a fire prince he really wanted to be.

'Mai I…' he started to reply.

'No' interrupted Mai suddenly, her hand still on his cheek. In the back of her mind she simply knew that dialogue was her enemy, she needed a way to streamline his muddled mind before it twisted in on itself again.

'I don't want you to tell me your answer' she continued, her fingers tracing the outline of his jaw.

'I want you to show me.'

Mai tipped her head forward slightly, her expression indicating well enough that this was Zuko's only way to answer.

Zuko frowned, his unfocused eyes dropping to look at a Mai's lap. His muddled mind polarised into two camps, he could either win Mai, or lose her. His first thought was that she would only get in the way, of what exactly, he couldn't say. But even the thought of more complexity in his life was something he expressly wanted to avoid… he knew that much.

Mai moved her hands to collect his loose hands in hers, bring them together and resting them on their touching laps.

Zuko's last thought was defeated by a brief recollection of his and Mai's relationship so far; she never pried, never pushed, she was simply there, waiting patiently, somehow comforting without saying anything, like now.

Zuko's mind switched to the other side, what if he lost her? The physical sensation of a sinking stomach told him instantly how much he had become accustomed to her silent support. She accepted him as he was, and was willing to help him. Though he had never directly recognised this fact, the thought of losing it suddenly made him realise how valuable it was.

Zuko's snap decision came out of nowhere, she wanted him, and he now knew that he wanted her, there was simply nothing wrong with that.

Zuko looked back up. Mai had turned her head away while waiting for his answer, but turned back to look him in the eyes when she noticed his head raise.

There was a sense of determination in his eyes and Mai couldn't tell what he had decided. Motionless, she simply waited for his next action.

Zuko slowly raised one of his arms, gently stroking the side of Mai's face with the back of his hand. Her cool, soft skin felt better then he could ever have imagined.

The fire prince raised his other hand to cup her face. Slowly, he leant forward, closing his eyes and guiding himself in for a tender kiss of his own. His thoughts dissolved as he was lost in the moment, simply enjoying every sensation as Mai leaned into him once more, enveloping him in her arms.

Moments of silent, blissful gentleness and affection followed one after the other. Both youngsters lost track of time as their senses were given full reign of their bodies. It was quite simply heaven for the two differently troubled minds, both being normally constrained by rigid thought structures and caged emotions.

Many minutes later, Mai found herself lying against Zuko's chest looking up at the stars; the two were curled up in a corner of the gazebo. Zuko gently hugged her from behind as he leaned back onto a column, his hands enjoying the soft texture of her clothes. They were both looking up at the stars, not having said a word since that first kiss, both relaxed… and both smiling…

End.

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_And there you go. In regards to Mai's sudden passion, there is a good saying about people, __'still waters run deep' It fits her somehow I think. Well, I tried to explain a lot of what they were thinking and I hope I was able to expand on their characters while still leaving them 'in character' for their actions in season 3… Given their current state, I see no long term future, but there is a lot of room for development, particularly Mai's character, and I think Zuko's just the man to return the favour of the support she showed him. But that story will have to wait until the end of the series… go the continuation!_

_Finally…__ I've managed to regularly update and hopefully kept a reasonable high quality, it's been a lot of work and I've appreciated the reviews so far… As for the rest of you, if you read this and have any thoughts on the matter, please write them in a review, even just a few words. Considering the effort I have put in I think I can request that (particularly if you have enjoyed the story!) So leave a review or +fav, it helps get a bigger audience… and will motivate me to start another story! :-)_

_Thanks all,_

_Biz_

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